UF coach Billy Donovan built an elite college basketball program, not an NBA factory

GAINESVILLE — Isn't it funny — and a little bit sad — that the most exposure University of Florida coach Billy Donovan's senior-laden powerhouse has received during this dominating season has come over the last week when McDonald's All-American Chris Walker finally became eligible?

The 6-foot-10 freshman played a grand total of seven minutes in his debut on Tuesday and recorded a whopping four minutes during Saturday's 78-69 victory over Alabama. And yet the crowd roars every time his name is mentioned, and the national media talks about Chris Walker as if he is Chris Paul.

Mind you, this is not Walker's fault; it is the fault of college basketball and the one-and-done mentality that permeates and pollutes the sport all the way up to the professional level. What does it tell you when a plethora of NBA teams are purposely tanking games in order to give themselves the best chance of drafting the current crop of teenagers?

This is beauty of Donovan's program, which won its 15th straight game and extended its home winning streak to 29 games on Saturday. The third-ranked Gators (21-2, 10-0 in the SEC) have four senior starters who not only have played more than 100 games each; they've won more than 100 games each. Patric Young, Casey Prather, Will Yeguete and Scottie Wilbekin have become key cogs in the only program in the country that has been to three straight NCAA Elite Eights.

Forget Walker. These four senior starters epitomize Donovan, who has matured from Billy the Kid, one of the great recruiters in college basketball, into Billy the Mentor, one of the great talent developers in college basketball.

Young is a perfect example. He came into UF as a big athletic body with no real basketball skills or finesse, but on Saturday he started the game with a soft baby hook in the lane. Wilbekin used to be a part-time defensive sparkplug and now has become one of the top point guards in the country. Prather has transformed from a mistake-prone freshman whom Donovan used to be afraid to put on the floor into an explosive player who is now Florida's leading scorer. And Yeguete is the defensive glue guy who in the first half on Saturday craftily managed to get himself wide open under the basket three straight times down the floor.

"To see where these seniors are now compared to where they were when they got here, as a coach you take a lot of pride and get a lot of enjoyment in that," Donovan said.

Not that Donovan doesn't recruit one-and-doners. Two years ago, he had former Winter Park star Austin Rivers committed to UF before he changed his mind and went to Duke. He recruited the bejabbers out of current Duke freshman Jabari Parker and thought he might land him until the night before signing day. The same with Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid. In 18 years at UF, Donovan has coached two one-and-doners.

The thing I like about Donovan is he actually has built a college basketball program and not a one-and-done NBA factory like Kentucky coach John Calipari. If you want to spend a couple of semesters in school while waiting to get drafted into the NBA, Calipari is the coach for you. If you want to go to college and possibly develop into an NBA player, Donovan is a much better choice.

"Kentucky has had a bunch of one-and-doners the last two years in a row," Young said. "They were like preseason No. 1 the last two years in a row [actually, the Wildcats were preseason No. 4 last season]. And last year, they went to the NIT and this year everybody was buying into that they were going to go unbeaten."

Kentucky has six true freshman McDonald's All-Americans who are all known, but probably will never be loved. It's hard to be loved when you don't stick around long enough for the student body to connect with and embrace you.

In contrast, the Gators held "Patric Young Beard Night" a couple of weeks ago when the student body showed to honor their senior center by wearing fake orange beards.

"I love this place," Young said. "I wouldn't trade the last four years for anything."

Young runs a hand through his full beard.

Too bad he has become an afterthought in a sport with an unhealthy fascination for players who don't even shave yet.

mbianchi@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @BianchiWrites. Listen to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on 740 AM.